Poverty is no excuse

Posted: Tuesday, November 15, 2005

THE NEWS that 12 Savannah-Chatham County public schools with large numbers of low-income students met their academic performance targets this year - triple the number that qualified last year - doesn't just reflect well on the district. It also provides a road map for other, underperforming schools to follow.

The dozen elementary schools - Bartow, Bloomingdale, Haven, Hodge, Islands, J.G. Smith, Largo-Tibet, Pulaski, East Broad, Garden City, Port Wentworth and Heard - all received federal Title I funds, which means a majority of their students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. Statistics generally show that such students struggle to achieve the same academic levels as their higher-income counterparts.

But low incomes should not equate to low expectations. Indeed, at Garden City, where three-fourths of the student body receives free or reduced-price lunches, Principal Andrea Williams said her teachers treat all students as if they were gifted. She said the state performance standards, which are pegged to test scores, test participation and attendance, are simply "the bottom level," and that "excelling the standards is what everybody should want to accomplish."

That doesn't mean there isn't still work that needs to be done at these schools - there's plenty of room for improvement. Children from poorer families often pose additional challenges for teachers. But poverty is no excuse either.

These dozen schools have taken the first important steps and laid a foundation for future success. Their stories can and should be replicated elsewhere in the district.